Description
The 2016 decision to leave the European Union marked a major shift in Britain’s international outlook, reflected in the pursuit of the ‘Global Britain’ agenda. Much analysis has focused on this Conservative project and its links to Brexit and imperial nostalgia. Yet while scholars recognise competing desires for British globality in the Brexit debates, Labour’s own construction of global ambition remains underexamined. This paper explores how post-Brexit reorientation toward the Indo-Pacific became a key site for articulating alternative visions of British globality, tracing Labour politicians’ narratives of regional involvement from opposition to government (2016–2024). Using qualitative narrative analysis of speeches, debates, and policy documents, it reveals a fundamental shift in how Labour framed Indo-Pacific engagement. Under the Conservatives, the region symbolised Britain’s strength beyond Europe; under Labour in opposition, it reflected a Britain adrift from Europe; in government, it signals strength through European partnership. The paper shows how Labour’s re-engagement with Europe re-anchors global ambition within a framework of partnership and responsibility. It argues that post-Brexit desires for global prominence were never confined to the right, but that their meaning and expression diverge across political traditions, as narratives actively constitute the meaning of Britain’s evolving international role following Brexit.
